Last-place Sparks surprises first-place Liberty and ends losing streak – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

LOS ANGELES – Defense provided the Sparks’ offense on Wednesday night as the WNBA’s last-place team shocked the first-place New York Liberty 94-88 for its first win in eight games.

Dearica Hamby scored 21 points, Rickea Jackson 19 and Rae Burrell added 18 off the bench while the Sparks (7-24) collected 12 steals on a night in which the Liberty (26-6) lost the ball 20 times and drove it down the court en route to an upset. Odyssey Sims added 14 points, seven assists (team-high) and three steals for the Sparks.

Breanna Stewart scored the most points of the game for New York with 32 points. Sabrina Ionescu added 18 points and six assists, Nyara Sabally added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Sparks’ win came nearly two weeks after the Liberty beat the Sparks by 35 points on the same court at Crypto.com Arena, a loss that left Sparks coach Curt Miller questioning his team’s pride.

Apparently they took this message to heart and responded with their first win since the away victory against the Dallas Wings before the Olympic break on July 13th.

Hamby (seven rebounds, five assists and three steals) and Jackson provided an inspired defensive performance from the start on Wednesday that helped the Sparks take the lead in the first quarter.

Jackson had two steals in the first quarter and scored 11 straight points at one point when the Sparks built a 10-point lead.

Their lead grew to 14 points before the Liberty found their rhythm. Stewart took advantage of a defensive error to cut the lead to five points and the Sparks settled for a 46-39 halftime lead.

The Liberty scored seven unanswered points early in the third quarter to tie the score at 46-46. The Sparks responded again with their defense. Hamby intercepted a pass from Ionescu and found Stevens for a three-pointer in transition.